Should parents be allowed to take kids out of school for a holiday?

XRAT

Taking kids out of school holds the whole class back when they return and have to catch up.., but it's outrageous that the schools can say, "No." Then have a trips week(s) when teachers get to take the kids abroad, "for education, sport, music, etc."

duchy

happyinflorida wrote: »

I learnt today that some poor dad, that took his daughter away to Pontins for a short break, during term time has been fined and got a criminal record - that is wrong IMO on every level. He said he couldn't afford to do it during the school holidays.


If people can get a cheap break to get away on a holiday with their kids it is really a wonderful experience for them all and I wouldn't want to deprive any family of that chance.


If a kids ill they'll be off school so what's the difference?


The holiday companies are so bad to charge so much more.


People should not be made into criminals for something like this, that is wrong on every level.

He didn't get a criminal record for taking his child on holiday.......He got it for refusing to pay the fine.

What kind of "wonderful family experience" is it when a child is sick ......Your logic is a bit odd there. If a child is genuinely too sick to go to school (not just a runny nose or a Mummy wants to go shopping type ailment) it can hardly be likened to a holiday for either the child or the parent looking after them. The child feels horrible and any decent parent would feel bad for their child (and may also be losing wages themselves). The two are in no way the same.

The real criminals in all this are the parents who for years have taken their kids away at important times in the school year with no regard for their child's education and now all families are suffering the backlash of their actions as to stop those children losing out - everyone is stopped . If parents had not chosen dates that were the beginning of the school year, SATs weeks etc and affected their children's education it would never have come to this .

As for the holiday companies-They aren't "so bad" they are businesses with shareholders and are responding to supply and demand - just like all other businesses. If you feel they are so awful-don't give them your business anytime of year and use businesses who don't raise prices in holiday times (if you can find any)

shornoff

JTW67 wrote: »

My wife is a college teacher. When a child is taken out of college during term time to go on holiday she has to help the child get back up to speed with the course in her own spare time. Despite public misconceptions, she works enormously long hours when you factor in evening work, marking etc. She needs a life, and not one spent grafting to help kids catch up so their parents can have a cheaper holiday by pulling kids out of college during term time

As an ex physics teacher of 35 years experience at secondary school (11 to 19) I know this to be true. Many kids never caught up but for young kids I think they might benefit more than they lose.

tonyE1951

Holidays in termtime should not be allowed except in exceptional circumstances - e.g. parent in armed forces or emergency services where they have no choice about when they have leave.
In my experience a significant number of parents book holidays at locations they can't afford in August whereas they could afford a "Staycation".
Term time holidays not only disrupt their childs education but the whole class as teachers have to repeat at least part of earlier sessions and devote extra time to previously absent children to enable them to catch up.
It's true that certain times in the school year are less crucial (e.g. the day before they break up or the last few days of the summer term) but Head Teachers no longer have the option to allow term time holidays.
Part of the reason is that when heads did have discretion certain individuals saw this a green flag to holiday whenever they wanted and created a huge furore if the head didn't give in to them.
In every case I had to deal with the families concerned had a very active social life, subscription television, large expensive to run cars etc, etc.
There were plenty of families who didn't enjoy this lifestyle but still managed to enjoy holidays in August by saving for it and being prepared to stay in this country using B&B's or 1 star hotels.
I'm not saying there aren't families which genuinely cannot afford holidays but in those circumstances there are organisations that can help with childrens holidays - and they will gain hugely from such experiences.
For the record I have a child of school age and have been a school governor for over 10 years.

mrjolly1

As a former teacher it appalls me when parents take their children out of school for any non-emergency reason. It places an unfair burden on the child, making it difficult, if not impossible to catch up with the work missed. It also places an unfair burden on the teacher, who is expected to devote additional time helping children who are unnecessarily, but inevitably falling behind in their studies. During teacher-led activities, opportunities to take part and to discuss, clarify and understand, will have been missed. It may be in some cases, that class work on the basics of a new project is relatively easy to complete out of school, but by the time this has been accomplished the work is out of context, with the rest of the class moving on hugely in the intervening week or fortnight.
People talk about education as if it were a static thing, something we can 'dip into' at will, but nothing is further from the truth. Education and learning are constantly evolving and developing. To miss a part is to lose the whole.
I do understand and sympathise with those parents who have difficulty in taking their childrens' holiday time off, and feel employers could do more to support them. Perhaps this could take the form of non-parents taking holidays in school time, when they would benefit from cheaper rates, leaving parents able to take annual leave during school holiday times. Not always possible of course, but it's a start.
Removing pupils from school for holidays also sends the very negative message to children that schooling can be ignored on a whim.
Education is vital for our childrens' futures, and unless it is treated with the respect it deserves we are all losers.

I'm sorry about the diatribe, but I feel strongly that we shouldn't even be having this discussion. Education is a privilege, not a right, and you only get one bite at the cherry.
It's all been said before, but here we are again, chewing over the same cud, ad infinutum.

seven-day-weekend

XRAT wrote: »

Taking kids out of school holds the whole class back when they return and have to catch up.., but it's outrageous that the schools can say, "No." Then have a trips week(s) when teachers get to take the kids abroad, "for education, sport, music, etc."

Well it's certainly not for the teachers' enjoyment! Whenever my husband went on a residential trip he spent half the night stopping pupils smoking, drinking, fighting and other nefarious activities that they might deem important.

mrjolly1

Absolutely. Taking children away on camps or educational visits abroad can be very rewarding, but can also be among the most traumatic times of a teachers' career.....unless your school is one of the few 'super schools' with excellent discipline records!

danthemoneysavingman

Just to be devil's advocate, there seems to be an overriding misconception that a holiday is a MUST and a RIGHT, which it certainly isn't. I'm not saying they're not beneficial in many ways, but...

DiggerB9

duchy wrote: »

So you can afford it but others can't. Uh-huh
Frankly if you kept them off the first few days of term I really DO think it was selfish . Did you not think through when you'd take the children on holiday when planning a school holidays wedding though -it all sounds very short-sighted.

Personally I don't have a problem in general with parents tacking a week onto half term or whatever (but a week off should be the maximum which I understand is 10 sessions currently allowed anyway without triggering a fine so the OP wouldn't have been fined for the 6 sessions she kept her child away anyway so her human or financial rights weren't affected ) except at significant times like beginning of term - SATs time etc at primary level and would far rather schools had greater flexibility to work with parents (eg my son's school for several years had a two week half term in May and broke up for the summer a week later than the other schools locally as the first week in June half the school was missing to pay May prices and lose a week rather than double to go July/August ...until a few parents complained it caused problems as they had kids at other schools too and we had to go back to the old system). If schools could "offset" for example reduce October and Febuary half term to long weekends and add the "saved" days to enable a longer break at say the end of May or break up earlier for the summer I think it could help a lot of people.
Holiday companies aren't going to reduce peak time prices -it's supply and demand so a better solution is to dilute the demand AND keep kids in school.

All of the above applies to primary however my feeling is once they are in high school -children should be in school full time and fines are perfectly acceptable.

I don't really understand your post though ...... you complain about cost then claim you could have afforded it anyway but simply put a cheaper holiday as a higher priority than your child's schooling ....... I suppose we all have different priorities - (Oh and it is bearing not baring - Maybe you were on holiday the week that spelling was covered at school though )

Duchy, don't worry we have started saving already for when our eldest starts Upper School in two years time ;-)

Selfish or not, whilst the costs of holidays in this country or abroad fluctuate in this way, parents will walk the tightrope.

Wizard_of_Groz

Cut the length of summer holidays and make other half terms/ Christmas breaks longer, at least 2 weeks each, then perhaps a 2 week holiday would be easier to take. When I have taken my children we only ever have taken the week before the end of term for the first week and then the second week falls in a school holiday anyway.